The present invention relates to a portable seat cooling apparatus.
Many of us have felt the pain of sitting against the seat of a vehicle in hot weather. In this context, air conditioning is initially irrelevant to the problem. This is because the sun has had a long time to heat the seat; the air conditioning has had little time to cool it off, and once we sit cool air cannot flow between the seat and our back to carry away the heat. Some deal with the problem by not sitting back until the seat cools off. Others have tried to solve the problem with a bit more sophistication by providing seat coolers using forced convection. The forced convection seat coolers add complexity. For example, if a battery powered pump provides the forced air stream, the system requires a battery, a pump, and a system for charging the battery, etc. If existing vehicle ventilation provides the forced air, the system requires hose(s) and attachments to connect to the seat cooler to the existing vehicle ventilation. In addition, using the existing ventilation will reduce the air delivered to other parts of the vehicle. Forced convection seat coolers have also used small openings that clog with dust over time reducing cooling efficiency until the user cleans the openings. This is tedious and time consuming and some may discard the seat cooler at this point. Forced air seat coolers are left in the vehicle even when not needed to save the time required to connect the components, which get in the way.
Fabric seat covers are also inadequate because they rely on cooling arising from bellowing when a person shifts in the seat. However, trapped hot air in the fabric tends to stay trapped and movement required to generate the cooling may not occur. The fabric may even build up heat due to the fabric's insulating properties. It would be desirable if a seat cooler could address these problems, and cool without the need for forced ventilation and the accessories mentioned earlier.